


7 days

by jiminchoos



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: All Kinds of Fluff, Businessman Minhyuk, Childhood Friends, Childhood Sweethearts, Completed, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, Heartbreak, Jooheon is a liddol sad, Kindergarten Teacher Jooheon, M/M, Pansexual Character, Short, minhyuk is rather gay for jooheon, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-03-08 19:06:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18900787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jiminchoos/pseuds/jiminchoos
Summary: in which Minhyuk has a week to patch together the one he’s always loved. since the start.





	1. d-7

**Author's Note:**

> the first of many. enjoy!

His fists pounded on the wet glass, desperate eyes meeting the displeased salesperson, who rolled their eyes before walking to the door. “We’re cl-“

“I know, but please, just give me 10 minutes. I’ll make a purchase, guaranteed,” Jooheon said with pleading eyes, growing aware of how desperate he looked, droplets of rain soaking through his shirt. The man stared back at him for a couple of seconds, before sighing deeply, gesturing for him to come inside. “thank you so much, honestly.”

“What can I help you with? Apart from maybe a towel.” He asked calmly as he smoothed his suit, fitting in perfectly with the aesthetics of the luxurious store. 

“Can I see your engagement rings?” 

“Right this way,” he said, leading him across the store floor to a display of rings, all shapes and sizes. His eyes scanned them over, prices that nearly made his heart stop, until they landed on the one. 

A dainty white gold ring with a moonstone, diamonds encircling it. He smiled, leaning in for a closer look.

Yeah, he could get used to seeing this on her for the rest of his life. “Can I have this one, please?”

“Right away, if you could just fill this in, I’ll go grab a box and then we can talk ring sizes and whatnot,” the salesperson smiled handing him a form and then a hand to shake. “I’m Hyungwon.”

“Jooheon,” he noticed his eyes drop, curiously looking at his paint stained clothes. “oh! I’m a nursery teacher; today was paint day.”

“And that incited you to buy an engagement ring?” 

“Not work exactly; I just got to thinking; the real epiphany came last night. I decided to do this last minute, hence the desperation, sorry for keeping you behind.” Jooheon smiled sheepishly, to which Hyungwon only shrugged. 

“Anything in the name of love, anyway, I’ll go grab your stuff. All the happiness for you and your partner.”

Not even the heavy rain could rid him of his smile, a flimsy newspaper he found on the monorail serving as an umbrella all the way from the station, to a takeaway place, and finally the apartment block they’d learned to call home.  
Ignoring every fibre of his body begging him to just take his time and take the damn lift, he set off for the stairs, ridding himself of the jewellery store’s bag and slipping the velvet box into his jacket pocket before opening the door. 

“Sohyun? Baby?” He called out into the seemingly empty apartment as he kicked off his shoes and carefully took off his jacket, heading to the kitchen. “Are you home?”

“Jooheon!” His love appeared out of thin air, dressed in a bath robe. He grinned, immediately offering her a hug, which she gingerly took. “You’re home early? What happened?”

“Nothing, I just missed you. Do you want to eat now, or can you wait until I shower?” He grinned, heading towards the stairs. 

“Wait! Let’s eat now. I’m starving.” She gripped his arm before he could reach the stairs, leading him to the kitchen. 

“Alright,” he chuckled, eventually slipping out of her grip and continuing to make his way up the stairs. “let me just take these gross clothes off and use the bathroom.”

“Can you not wait? I’m so hungry and tired, please?” Sohyun followed behind him, a death grip on his arm. 

“Babe, it will be quick, I’m literally drenched,” he smiled, opening the door to the bedroom. “I can’t -“

Almost immediately, his words died in his mouth as his eyes met another pair. 

Another man’s eyes, which resembled a deer in headlights, a towel around his hips. His shoulders sank, and it felt like all the gravity of the world had concentrated itself upon him, quickly squeezing any air out of him, the wet clothes only intensifying it.  
A heavy silence hung in the air, before he slowly turned around to her pale face. “Sohyun, who’s this?”

“Jooheon, I can explain-“ her hand landed on his arm, but he was fast to shake it off. “it isn’t what you-“

He reached for her, ignoring how she flinched, unexpectedly touching her hair. His eyes flicked back to the man, tiny droplets shining on his dark hair. “I can’t believe you.” He said quietly, barging out of the bathroom. 

“Jooheon! Please wait!” The brunette’s voice echoed throughout the apartment, as she followed him downstairs. She attempted to hold his arm again, but he only reacted in the same way he did before, little hesitation in his movement.

“Why?! Give me one good reason to do so. Tell me that you have an excuse for why a man is in our bathroom, and why both of you have wet hair and you coincidentally have a bathrobe on?” His voice cracked momentarily. “Tell me that it’s all a misunderstanding.”

The heavy silence seemed to have followed them downstairs, wrapping itself around his throat, as Sohyun’s eyes dropped, defeated. 

“Did I ever even mean anything to you?”

“You meant everything to me-“

“Ah,” he laughed sadly, swallowing a painful lump in his throat as his heart shattered into countless pieces. “meant. I guess I’ll just become another memory to you from now on.”

He reached for his jacket, hurriedly throwing it on only to be stopped short by a near silent thud. 

“Jooheon.”

“Don’t even try to-“

“Jooheon,” she insists, eyes glued to the tiny velvet box that had slipped from his pocket. “were you going to propose to me?”

He stared at the navy box, long enough for it to begin to look distorted, tears clouding his vision. With the remnants of pride he still had, he dragged a hand over his eyes as he reached for the box, stuffing it back into his pocket, and silently leaving what was once called home. 

However he didn’t make it far, just past the doors leading to the stairs, before sliding down to the floor, pained, silent sobs ripping their way through him. He pulled his knees to his chest, shaky hands hurriedly wiping his face before he was startled by his phone buzzing. 

minhyuk: this weather

minhyuk: you better have an umbrella or I will hurt you !!

jooheon: can I come over

jooheon: it’s ok if I cant, you might be busy 

minhyuk: jooheon I am never too busy for you

minhyuk: I’ll leave the key under my rug, I’ll be taking a shower ♡♡♡ 

minhyuk: is everything okay?

minhyuk: I love you :(

jooheon: love you too

***

“Is that you?” He stuck his head out of his bedroom, yelling down the hall & quickly greeted with nothing but silence. Minhyuk hummed, quickly returning to throw on a t-shirt, towel drying his dark hair before heading to the living room. “Bro, next time please respond, I thought it was a murderer for a second.”

He couldn’t help but smile, Jooheon stood at the floor-to-ceiling window, staring down at the Seoul skyline, the sky painted an array of colours as the rain finally stopped, illuminating the living room a pretty orange. With each step in his direction, his heartbeat picked up, but it nearly stopped when he saw the fresh tears running down his best friend’s cheeks. “Hey,” he gently touched his arm. “what happened?”

It seemed as if the gesture was enough to suddenly make him come undone, slowly walking into his arms before beginning to sob uncontrollably. Minhyuk frowned, squeezing him tightly. “Jooheon, please tell me what’s going on, you’re scaring me.”

It was an unfamiliar sight, at least recently - Jooheon was far more serious than Minhyuk, but even then, it was rare that he was so vulnerable and emotional in front of him. Even back in school, or university, his dimpled best friend unloaded stress by cussing out the entire world; to see him cry like this was alarming, but more than anything, it was heartbreaking. He squeezed him tighter, stroking his hair. 

“I’m sorry,” he choked. “I’m sorry to come in like this. I shouldn’t burden you with my problems.”

“You are far from a burden, okay? I’m glad you came to me,” he reassured him immediately. “but I need you to tell me what’s wrong so I can help you, Jooheon.”

“Okay.”

“Here.” Minhyuk practically ran to the kitchen, handing him a glass of water. “what’s happened?”

“Sohyun. She..” he paused. “am I not good enough?”

His heart ached in his chest. “What? Of course not. Who said that?”

“When I came back, there was another man there, in our bathroom. She cheated on me, Minhyuk.”

The words cut into him, ripping through everything in its path before reaching his heart, and for a moment, all he could feel was rage.

Pure wrath that someone so undeserving had the heart of the love of his life, yet showed little hesitation to break it. That they had the luck to date the crush of his lifetime, and then proceed to destroy him like this.  
But that rage was quickly drowned out by sadness, as Jooheon’s shaky hands produced a navy velvet box, the prettiest engagement ring inside of it, and just that was enough to bring tears to his eyes. “Oh, Jooheon. I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry.”

He pulled his friend into a tight hug once again, hoping the tears would disappear if he squeezed his eyes tight enough. 

“I should go,” Jooheon whispered. “you need to rest, you have work tomorrow. I’ll find a hotel for the night and then sort out everything tomorrow.” 

“Fuck work, Jooheon. And fuck going anywhere but here,” he said. “come on, I’ll run you a shower and make some food. We can eat, grab some blankets and watch all the shitty TV your heart desires. We can go about sorting out everything else tomorrow, yeah?”

He waited until he was certain Jooheon was in the shower before allowing the tears he’d suppressed for so long come pouring out. It was a mix of everything; anger towards Sohyun for even thinking of anybody else when she had his entire world, unbearable sadness that his best friend was heartbroken, and regret. 

Regret that this situation could have been avoided, had he just confessed his feelings when he had the chance. He dragged a hand across his eyes. 

“Hey,” Jooheon returned, showered and changed, but the redness of his eyes still remaining. “let me help.”

“You can grab cutlery and stuff and go pick something. I’m nearly done.” He forced a smile, to which he just nodded. 

“Is it the onions?”

“Yeah.” He answered curtly. 

It wasn’t like any other night Jooheon stayed over; usually they would laugh until the early hours and he was always greeted with complaints the day after, but today, the only sound came from his chopsticks against the dishes and occasional sighs.  
Minhyuk finished washing up, returning to the sofa. “Get up for a second.”

Jooheon immediately stood up, Minhyuk laying down and opening his arms for him to lay before him. He held him tightly, hoping it was helping in some way. “Are you comfortable?”

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “thank you, Minhyuk.”

“Always.” He planted a kiss on top of his head, eyes flicking to the TV, becoming so engrossed he didn’t even realise his best friend had fallen asleep in his arms until he heard soft snores alongside the ending credits of the film they’d been watching. 

He looked down, his eyelashes sparkly with tears but the rest of his face relaxed, chest rising and falling gently. He smiled, continuing to play with his hair, planting another kiss on his forehead. 

“Just give me 7 days.”


	2. d-6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been a hot minute hehe, I was busy with exams and everything but from now on it’s summer time! here’s a celebratory update x

[September 2014]

The leaves rustled quietly, sounds of laughter and chatter ringing through the playground, stretching all the way to the end of the field, where Minhyuk sat with Jooheon’s head on his lap, eyes closed. 

It was only the second week of his final year of high school, and although he’d had enough of the scratchy, restraining uniform and education at this level in general, he would happily relive it one last time if it meant he could have moments like this for another year.  
The younger stared at the leaves above mindlessly, occasionally rolling over to grab another biscuit from his bag. 

“Will you miss me?”

He suddenly looked down, his sharp eyes on him. “What?”

“Will you miss me when you leave?” Jooheon asked again. 

“Of course I’ll miss you, but I’ll come see you every day I can. Plus you can come to my accommodation whenever you want too,” he smiled. “you just won’t have me around everyday at school.”

“Yeah. It’ll be weird,” he sighed, sitting up. “why didn’t my parents get to it earlier so we could be in the same year?”

Minhyuk couldn’t help but laugh, fighting the need to pinch his cheeks. “We’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

His best friend laid down again, this time closing his eyes. “You must be so excited, you can go out, drink, meet new people. I have to be stuck here for another year with these idiots.”

“Hey,” he flicked his friend’s ear softly. “those ‘idiots’ are your friends too. And yeah, I guess I’m lucky I can do all of that, but still, I’m not that excited for it.”

“Why?” Jooheon asked. 

Because you won’t be there, he wanted to scream, as loud as he could, but instead he smiled. “It’s all quite expensive.”

Jooheon sat up, painfully unaware of how Minhyuk’s heart ached for his. “I guess yeah, but you can work, and you can ask your parents or even me!” 

Minhyuk nodded, proceeding to hear the five million ways he could get money to fund a potential alcohol addiction that Jooheon reeled off dangerously fast from the top of his head. In reality, he didn’t really take in much of what he said, becoming too overwhelmed to function when Jooheon rolled, his head moving from his leg to his stomach. 

So he didn’t, and neither did the younger, both enjoying the beginning of the end together. 

***

The long night had finally come to an end, rain clouds and any signs of last night’s downpour seamlessly disappearing at the first rays dawn, the sunshine now bright and intense on a blue sk as the clock ticked towards 9am.  
Minhyuk was out of bed early, taking the time to tidy up, take a shower and make breakfast. 

He hummed quietly, a lo-fi song playing softly throughout the kitchen, loud enough for him to not hear Jooheon approach him until he heard him. “Hey.”

“Good morning,” he smiled warmly, serving rice into two bowls. “sit down, the soup will be ready soon. Did you sleep well?”

“As well as possible, yeah,” he sighed. “thanks again, honestly I don’t even know how I could ever repay you.”

“You don’t have to repay me for anything, you’re literally my best friend - what kind of person would I be if I wasn’t there for you? Here, be careful, it’s hot.”

“Thank you,” He smiled, reaching for a spoon. Minhyuk slipped into the seat opposite him, adding some of the side dishes to his plate, causing Jooheon to chuckle. “are you trying to fatten me up?”

“I’m trying to give you energy, you must be exhausted, so eat. We have quite the-“

“Oh, shit! I need to go to work, M-“

He reached out for his arm, slowly lowering him back to his seat. “What-“

“I called the nursery; you’re away on a family emergency for the rest of this week. They said best of luck with everything and that if you need more time just ask. Your days off are paid too, I haggled on your behalf,” Minhyuk continued to nonchalantly tuck into his breakfast. “me too; I took the week off and they told me they were glad I was finally using my holidays.”

“Oh,” Jooheon blinked. “thanks, I guess. It’s probably a good idea, I need to sort out so much.”

“And I’ll be here to help. Today we start with grabbing your stuff from your apartment, and finally making use of that spare room of mine - how do you feel about becoming my roommate?”

“Minhyuk, I can’t, that is too big of a fa-“

“Oh, you’ll be paying rent and bills; I didn’t want to but I knew your pride wouldn’t let you accept that so there. Undeniable offer,” he grinned, clapping wildly as Jooheon’s concerned frown faded into a smile. “now, eat. We have a busy day so, consider this day one. Or should I say, 6 days until.”

“Until what?”

“You’ll see.” He smiled once again, this time a little more mischievously. Jooheon blinked a couple of times, before shaking his head. 

“Nothing good ever happens when you smile like that.” 

“Well, you might be wrong about this one.” He winked. To that his cute best friend only smiled, continuing to eat until his plate was cleared, eventually strolling back upstairs for a shower. 

Minhyuk took the opportunity to get himself changed, laying out Jooheon’s freshly washed & dried clothes on his bed. He was halfway down the stairs when he heard his name. “Yeah?”

“Did you wash my clothes?” He froze entirely, Jooheon stood in the middle of the hallway with nothing but a towel around his waist, using another to dry his hair. Minhyuk breathed, forcing a nod. “Thank you.” He smiled. 

“No worries, I’ll be downstairs.” He said shakily, making his way back down and falling onto the sofa with a loud, dramatic sigh.  
To kill time, he scrolled through his phone, eventually sitting up at the sounds of gentle footsteps approaching him from behind. 

“You ready to go?” The excitement in his voice faded as Jooheon returned, this time looking gloomier than before. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry, I just-“

“No, it’s ok. We can wait.”

“No, it’s fine. I have to do it someday, may as well do it now where I am less inclined to change my mind and find excuses for her,” He said sadly. “Will you come in with me?”

“Of course, Jooheon,” Minhyuk whined, pulling him into a tight hug. “of course. Every step of the way.”

“Thanks so much. Honestly, you don’t know how much this means to me.”

“It’s my pleasure, and my duty as best friend,” he grinned, poking his cheek. “you’ll be ok. It will sting for now but you’ll make it out of it.”

“Are you sure?” He looked at him with teary eyes and Minhyuk was almost certain you could hear his heart audibly break in his chest. 

“Entirely,” a flicker of hope crossed his best friend’s eyes, and frankly, that was more than enough for him. He held out his hand, which Jooheon didn’t hesitate to take. “come on, I’ll drive us there.”

A couple of clouds appeared in the sky, and soon, the blue was replaced by grey, rain clouds threatening as they stepped out of Minhyuk’s car, in front of the apartment building. They made their way up in silence, Jooheon’s growing uncomfortableness becoming more and more noticeable with each floor they passed in the elevator.

“I’ll go in alone.”

“Are you sure, Jooheon?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what I’m coming back to,” he smiled sadly. “I’ll be okay, promise.”

“I’ll wait here.” He nodded, watching him unlocking the door.  
His obedience lasted maybe seconds before he made his own way to the door, alarmed by raised voices. 

“Of course he’s here,” Sohyun immediately scoffed at his presence. “did you move on from me that fast?”

“No, Sohyun. Unlike you, I can be friends with people without jumping on them and throwing away a 4 year relationship. I’ll leave that up to you,” Jooheon shook his head as he returned with an empty suitcase, dropping to the floor to collect his shoes by the door. “I’m just here to get my stuff.”

“And I’m here to help him.” Minhyuk added. 

“Are you not even going to let me explain m-“

“What is there to explain?!” Jooheon suddenly screamed, earning a flinch from Minhyuk. “You cheated on me. What could you possibly say to help the situation, Sohyun? I just want to know why, at least - am I not good enough for you? Do I not do enough for you?”

“Hey,” Minhyuk touched his arm, his best friend visibly on the edge of a panic attack. “wait outside, okay? I’ll grab your things.”

“I don’t want you-“

“You don’t have a say in this, Sohyun!” It was his turn to shout once Jooheon had left. “You don’t get to have a say in this. You broke him, in ways you can’t even begin to understand. You went on cheated on the most caring, most loving person to have ever walked into your miserable life and look at what you’ve done - and look long and hard, because this is your mess. Now if you excuse me, Jooheon is waiting for me.”

He dodged around her, heading towards their room, carefully packing his friend’s clothes into suitcases, tears brimming his eyes. Minhyuk stopped for a second, taking a deep breath. 

“You’re going to take this opportunity to make your move, huh?” Sohyun reappeared. “He doesn’t like you, Minhyuk. He doesn’t like gu-“

“You don’t know him.”

“I’ve been with him for 4 years.”

“I’ve been there for him for 22,” he glared at her. “long enough to know that Jooheon loves regardless of such menial things like gender, if that’s what you’re getting at. Now if you excuse me, I have to go. You might want to look at making some savings, your joint account got cancelled this morning. Have a nice day.”

He made his way out despite her complaining, simply closing the door behind him, and thanking the Lord that the door was thick enough to muffle her voice. Jooheon stood by the window at the end of the hallway, looking out at the buildings nearby as patches of blue began to appear in the sky. 

“I got all of your clothes. You won’t need anything else for the time being,” he said, gently stroking his hair. “I’m sorry, Jooheon.”

“It isn’t your fault.”

“Or yours, do you hear me? She was the one who screwed up; that doesn’t impact your worth in any way, only hers,” he said. “tell you what, lets put these bags into my car and go somewhere?”

“Where are you taking me?”

“You’ll see, just come!”

***

Jooheon peered around the dark room sceptically. “This is all kinds of shady.”

“It’s safe, promise,” he laughed. “It’s all for the aesthetic.”

A loud voice boomed across the barely lit room, prompting them to grab safety gear hung on the walls. “What is this?”

“Just do what they say!” Minhyuk laughed, putting on safety glasses and a helmet. “Follow me?”

He led him to a well-lit room, countless stacks of plates at the centre of the four concrete walls. “Minhyuk, seriously, what is this?”

“This,” he carefully grabbed a plate, eyes never leaving Jooheon. “is release.”

He threw the plate at the wall, smashing into a thousand pieces as Jooheon watched, jaw dropped. He reached for another, throwing it to the floor. “Come on, we have 20 minutes to get through all these stacks of-“

It didn’t even take him saying more than that to have his friend recklessly throw plates in every direction as he watched proudly. His energy died down rather fast, only two stacks left.

“It’s all me, isn’t it?” His voice was unnaturally quiet, eyes on the floor. “it’s all my fault.”

“Come here,” Minhyuk hugged Jooheon. “she isn’t worth it. One day you’ll finally see someone who would give you the moon and stars.”

“Don’t you mean ‘meet’?”

“Maybe, maybe not,” he released him, kicking over the final two stacks of plates. “now let’s go, we need to grab some bats and go break more stuff in the next room. Do you want to carry on?”

Jooheon smiled. “Yes pleased.”

“Great,” Minhyuk chuckled gently. “let’s go.”


	3. d-5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> massively overdue, I know. I’m currently going through some major writer’s block mixed with an overall funk but hopefully it will clear off soon - I meet the boys in exactly a week and I honestly can’t wait :D

A gentle but stressed sigh escaped Minhyuk’s lips, frowning at the mass of letters Jooheon had dumped before him. He reached for one, a bank stamp at the top right corner. “A joint savings account too? On top of shared mortgage payments?”

“Sorry, I just thought I really was going to spend the rest of my life with her,” his best friend collapsed into a chair, bringing his hands to his face before raking them through his dark hair, head eventually slumping down on the coffee table he was sat in front of. “I can’t help but feel like I’m being a burden, Minhyuk. You shouldn’t be putting your life on hold for me.”

“It’s not a burden, it’s helping a person that is very dear to me get back on their feet,” he smiled, pushing his glasses further up his nosebridge. “it’s okay. We’ll do a quick tour and cut all the strings attaching you to her. You’ll be as free as a bird in no time; also, out of curiosity, what’s your favourite colour right now?”

“I like red. Always have,” the sceptical look returned to his face, Minhyuk giggling. “why?”

“You look cute when you’re second guessing things, but don’t worry, it’s just for your room. I want you to be as comfortable in it as possible, plus painting it together can be fun,” the older laid down by the huge panoramic buildings, Seoul’s glassy skyline glistening in the late morning sunshine. He stretched quietly, turning back to Jooheon, who grinned. “What?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t know how I’ll ever repay you for being there for me.”

“That’s alright. You don’t have to, you soppy mess,” he stood up, offering to pull Jooheon to his feet. “now come on.”

Either a sudden power took over Minhyuk or gravity forgot to work on Jooheon, but the older pulled with enough force to send him flying back, pulling the younger with him.  
The two landed on the plush carpet with a dull thud, the pain that had began to spread through Minhyuk’s back immediately numbed the moment he actually remembered to look up, meeting Jooheon’s panicked stare. 

“Oh my God, are you okay?” He asked wildly, grabbing his face with both hands. 

“I’m okay,” he responded with a soft chuckle. “underestimated my strength.” And self control.  
He laid still, Jooheon’s soft hands still resting on either cheek, each breath or his further reminding him of how he laid directly on top of him. 

Minhyuk’s smile only grew in intensity, calmly moving a stray hair from his best friend’s eyes, which showed an array of emotions in them. The touch of his fingertips seemed to bring him back to life, as the eye contact was lost & any other form contact too, Jooheon rolling off Minhyuk to land beside him. His chest deflated. 

“You had a hair in-“

“It’s okay,” Jooheon sat up, propping himself up with his elbow, beaming down at Minhyuk. “don’t worry about it. Shall we get going?”

Ran speechless (and frankly, with his heart still ready to burst out of his chest onto the unsuspecting coffee table), Minhyuk just nodded, beating Jooheon to the shoe cupboard by the door and waiting outside of his apartment for him, appreciating the fresh breeze & hoping it would calm down his red cheeks.  
The silence maintained itself as they moved to the cars, pulling out of the garage and into the sunshine, Jooheon simply scrolling through his social media, until he suddenly looked up, and his phone fell out of his hands. “Pull over.”

“What?”

“Pull over!” He repeated hurriedly, already taking off his seatbelt and climbing out before Minhyuk could even register what was going on, the younger walking into a jewellers.  
He followed shortly after, joining him in waiting for a sales assistant. 

“Hello, welcome to-“ a man appeared behind them, tall and elegant, curly wisps of burgundy hair falling into his eyes. He smiled. “ah. Our hopeless lover, it’s a pleasure to see you again. How can I be of assistance?”

“I wanted to return this.” Jooheon fished the velvet case from his pocket, a frown forming on Minhyuk’s face as he came to the realisation he’d been holding on to the ring ever since.

“Oh,” the sales assistant delicately took the box, popping it open before eyeing the dainty ring inside. “is something wrong? Does it not fit?”

“It didn’t work out.” 

A heavy silence hung amidst the three, apparently gone unnoticed by anybody else in the store. The tall man pressed his lips together, all previous excitement dying there and then. Jooheon chuckled, hoping to bring back the mood, but instead sounding sadder than before. “We weren’t right for each other.”

“My heart aches for you, moonbeam. Sometimes things just fall apart, and we just have to let them & rise from the ashes stronger than ever,” his gaze shifted to Minhyuk, breath catching in his throat and just how handsome this man was. “is this a friend of yours?”

“Yeah. Oh, Minhyuk; this is Hyungwon, he helped me with buying the ring yesterday. This is my best friend, Minhyuk, who’s been keeping me going.” 

“Well, I’m glad you have someone in your corner,” he beamed, shaking his hand. “its a pleasure to meet you. I’ll be processing this; would you like a drink or something?”

“No thank you, but do you mind if I just look at the rings again?”

Hyungwon smiled at Jooheon’s question, offering a nod and reassuring pat, before he was off toward a large display of engagement rings. He moved closer to Minhyuk, speaking softly. “I’m worried about him. Just from those 20 minutes in the store I could tell he wore his heart on his sleeve; I’m guessing it came back to bite him.”

“You can say so,” He sighed heavily, watching the dark haired boy. “he doesn’t deserve this. He was so happy - they were so happy. I don’t understand how someone can be like that.”

“You’ve got the job covered.” Hyungwon announced unexpectedly, earning a raised eyebrow from Minhyuk. “please. I’ve been working here since before I could write my own name. I’ve seen my fair share of couples that aren’t in love - that made me extra good at spotting enamoured hearts, although in this case, lovesick is more adequate.”

He fully turned his head, mouth agape. Hyungwon smiled. “That was purely a guess, but I’m glad to know I still have it,” he circled around a stunned Minhyuk. “hang tight. His heart is in tatters, yes, but I think the fact he came to you before anybody else speaks volumes.”

“O-of course he would come to me, I’m his best friend. W-why wouldn’t he?”

“That is a very good point, but, mon ange, I can detect intertwined souls from a mile away. And I can guarantee you only a soulmate can fully mend their other half’s broken heart, given that it is it’s most prized possession, after all,” Hyungwon grinned, with all the grace and elegance in South Korea combined. “trust me.”

“I’m all good. Have you processed the return?” Jooheon returned to their side, still awfully downcast. 

“I’m afraid I can’t. Your receipt is void, my dear,” Hyungwon said calmly, both eyeing him in confusion. “all you can do is exchange it, and because my soul tells me we’ve met in another life, I’ll allow you to exchange it for anything in the store.”

“I..” The younger’s voice trailed off, eventually turning to his best friend. “how would you feel about a present?”

[November 2014]

“Is everything okay?” Minhyuk asked with a bright smile on his face, wondering why on Earth his best friend would drag him out of the sickest surprise birthday party. Alcohol pumped through his veins, but he was still aware of everything; in fact, everything he’d ever felt had been heightened by the first legal drinks he’d necked earlier in the night. 

Jooheon stood before him, anxiously clutching a gift bag, which he shyly offered him. “This is for you.”

“My present?” He nodded. “oh, come on inside! I’ll open it with everybody else’s!”

“No! I mean- you need to open it out here, if possible,” the younger said. “please.”

“Of course, it’s ok,” Minhyuk smiled, poking a dimple as he dipped his hand in the bag, hands grazing and pulling out a piece of card. “card?”

“Turn it over,” Jooheon chuckled, flipping the small piece to reveal a red thread bracelet, adorned with a small gold bead. “it’s a red string of fate, in this case a bracelet. It’s said that a red thread connects two people that are destined to meet regardless of any circumstances. I feel that way about you, about our friendship and how despite-“

Jooheon’s words were cut short, Minhyuk yanking him into his arms. “I know. You don’t even have to say it. I know.”

“I know it’s a bit sappy and a bit shit but I had this mental breakdown over you going to university and finding better friends and forgetting about me and I know that can’t happen since you literally witnessed my birth and-“

“Nobody will ever come close to you, okay? I promise you,” Minhyuk grinned. “ignore the fact I’m shitfaced- I love you and I mean it.”

“I love you too, Minhyuk,” Jooheon grinned, with the intensity and brightness the Sun could only wish it had, sliding the bracelet onto his wrist and then comparing it to his own, before a final smile. “let’s go inside.”

***

[present time] 

Minhyuk smiled to himself, the white gold Cartier bracelet catching the sun as he dipped his brush into paint, gently dragging it across the wall. Beside him, Jooheon aggressively covered the mustard yellow with white, the sound of the paint roller causing him to laugh. “You’re going to break it!”

“It will be fine, trust me, this isn’t my first painting rodeo.” He smiled. 

It wasn’t hard to notice that Jooheon was feeling a little better; with any financial ties with her now severed, he was on his way of mending himself, and so Minhyuk didn’t hesitate to continue to let him do as he pleased - especially when that entailed gifting him a whole Cartier Love bracelet.  
He was happier, laughing fully instead of his sad chuckles, and that alone made Minhyuk the happiest. 

So no, of course he wasn’t mad that he was splattering paint everywhere and painting with zero sense of direction. 

“This is very cathartic, Minhyuk. Trust me,” he sighed. “should we take a break? I’m a bit tired.”

“Yes, you’ve earned it,” he threw him a water bottle, both sitting at the centre of the room, the late afternoon sun colouring the entire room gold. Jooheon placed his water down, swivelling around to lay his head over Minhyuk’s crossed legs, golden hour psi dont his eyes a deep honey. “how are you feeling?”

“I don’t know. Not as bad, but still pretty bad. I guess it’s part of getting myself back up on my feet; like, I don’t think of her as much but when I do it’s just that moment when I walked into the bathroom,” his eyes fluttered shut. “frankly it just makes me mad that I wasted my time on someone like that.”

“I guess life has its little, shitty potholes, but you have to remember there is more to yoyr road than that.”

Unexpectedly, Jooheon laughed, looking up at his best friend. “10 minutes with Hyungwon and suddenly you’re a poet.”

“Speaking of him, did you know him at all before then? It’s like he knew you for years?”

“Well, some people are like that. If I didn’t know any better I would think he was a warlock or some shit.”

Minhyuk laughed, but it was short lived as his eyes met Jooheon’s, staring back at him. “You look pretty when you smile.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Minhyuk blushed, looking away as Jooheon rolled off him. “you do too.”

“Aw, blushing are we?” He looked up suddenly, a paintbrush pointed directly at his face and before he could even threaten him, it’s bristles already ran down his cheek. With a shriek, Jooheon took off, leaving Minhyuk to chase him around the room, all while the younger continued to flick paint at him. 

At least that was until he reached for the roller. Jooheon’s eyes widened. “Minhyuk, no.”

But his best friend’s only narrowed. “Minhyuk, yes.”


	4. d-4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for the delay, I was hit with a spell of writer’s block, but things are slowly falling back into place again!

**[January 2015]**

 

The single word echoed loud and clear, reaching anybody in vicinity of the weak circle created around them; reaching anybody but Minhyuk, who despite being less than a metre from the source of the word, couldn’t hear past the blood tearing it’s way through the veins near his ears. 

 

His entire body went slack, eyes looking around wildly as more people moved towards the commotion, leering in his direction. He felt a presence beside him, his narrow eyed best friend joining the equation, looking anything but happy. 

 

“Say that again,” Jooheon hissed threateningly. “I dare you to say that again.”

 

Before them stood the ringleader, some low life silver-spoon child with an unbearably impressive knack for getting directly beneath Minhyuk’s skin. Hyunmin smiled ruthlessly, uncrossing his arms. “Of course you’d show up. You’re probably dating.”

 

“I’m warning you, you might want to stop.” Suddenly Jooheon became serene, unsettlingly serene. Minhyuk grabbed his arm.

 

“Stop. It’s fine. I don’t care, come on, let’s go.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

He nodded, his skin feeling numb and clammy as he tried to walk away. Jooheon eyed him with concern, before letting himself get dragged away. Minhyuk made a mental note to take a breath of relief, not only for himself but for Hyunmin and the danger he’d just avoided. 

He’d only seen his best friend mad twice in his life, and it wasn’t pretty. 

 

And then he went and ruined it, with a single, evil laugh. “Of course. There they go, the two fa-“

 

The word didn’t leave him the second time around, Jooheon turning around and closing the distance between them too fast for Minhyuk to stop him, and next thing he knew the screams grew in intensity, and Hyunmin was on the floor, being absolutely pummelled. 

From then on he was swallowed into the crowd, which soon came to disperse as teachers sprinted to the scene. 

 

His mind only came to function again when sat outside of the headteacher’s office, a hissing and groaning Jooheon sat beside him, only a cut on his cheek and tiny scratches as proof that he’d just neaten someone’s ass, otherwise entirely unscathed. He held a tissue to the wound, dabbing at it whilst cursing under his breath. 

 

“Are you okay?” Minhyuk asked slowly, almost catching him off guard. 

 

“Me? I’m okay. I’m not one for violence usually but that was...cathartic,” Jooheon chuckled, and so did Minhyuk but it was short lived, realisation drowning him. “I mean, he had it coming; the guy just doesn’t know when to-“

 

“It’s true.” 

 

“What?”

 

“What he said,” Minhyuk turned to him. “It’s true. I’m gay.”

 

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

 

His jaw dropped, whilst Jooheon only smiled, wincing a little at his cut stretching with the gesture, but the intensity of it never faltering. “I’m happy as long as you’re happy. I don’t care who you like - you can develop an attraction for trees if you want,” Minhyuk cackled. “but I don’t care, as long as you’re happy, so am I.”

 

Overwhelmed, all he could do was squeeze his hand, smiling. “That means a lot, Jooheon.”

 

“Let’s go in and get this over with.” 

 

The ultimate verdict ended with Hyunmin and Jooheon suspended for two weeks effective immediately, and although his parents were not entirely ecstatic when picking him up, he explained quickly, and it all was okay. 

 

As for Minhyuk, nothing, which his headteacher described as “a relief” since it wouldn’t tarnish his pristine records and jeopardise his Seoul University application. 

But that left him alone, to fend for himself as the entire school came to know his secret, walls closing in around him. 

 

***

 

**[present time]**

 

Jooheon sighed to himself, lenses digging up as he took a sip of his coffee, pulling his knees to his chest as he reached for a stack of spelling test papers, humming gently to himself. Opposite him, rain drops littered the panoramic window, Seoul covered by clouds and heavy rain. 

 

He heard a noise, startled by Minhyuk shiffling across the living room to the kitchen, unnaturally...glossy? “Hey.”

 

“Hi,” Jooheon chirped. “I made you breakfast.”

 

“Thank you,” His voice was distant, slightly muffled but mainly less lively than usual. He got up from his spot in front of the window, padding over to the kitchen to find his friend leaning against the counter, breathing heavily. “everything okay?”

 

“Yeah; stay away though,” he chuckled weakly. “you catch colds far too easily to even be in the same room as me now.”

 

“Oh, shut up. I sleep next to your bed, I’m bound to catch it anyways. You sure you okay? You’re sweating really-“ Jooheon froze, feeling Minhyuk’s forehead. “you’re literally burning up!”

 

“Really? I’m freezing,” Minhyuk dropped the facade, wrapping his arms around himself. “no, I promise I’m okay, it’s just a cold.”

 

“Minhyuk, you have the flu.”

 

“Me? Never-“ he sneezed. “oh God, I need a blanket.”

 

“Come on, you need to shower and get back in bed-“

 

“I’m okay, I just need some coffee and I’ll be fine, Jooheon,” Minhyuk sighed, very obviously not fine as he wiped sweat from beneath his glasses. “I’m hot now.”

 

“Here,” He handed him a glass of water, which he quickly drank, Adam’s apple bobbing with the action, a single drop rolling down his neck & disappearing under his shirt. He desperately looked away, his own body temperature rising unexpectedly. He shivered the feeling away. “thank you. I think I’m gonna do what you told me to do and shower. In hindsight, I might just lay down for a bit, I really am not feeling it.”

 

“Come on, I’ll help you-“

 

He stopped talking abruptly, Minhyuk suddenly pulling his shirt over his head as he walked ahead, all too nonchalantly. Jooheon blinked, Minhyuk squinting at him. “You were saying?”

 

“I’ll help.” He practically squeaked, following close behind him. In his room, Minhyuk laid down beneath the covers with a gentle sigh, pulling the covers around his face as his eyes fluttered shut. 

Confused and frankly a little out of place, Jooheon stood in the centre of the bedroom, like a sim waiting for instructions. 

 

Minhyuk’s eyes opened again, this time laughing at his best friend. “Are you buffering?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Come here; if you’re ok with the imminent probability of you catching these spicy germs.” 

he spread his arms out, inviting him to the petri-dish his bed had most likely become. 

 

Any other day he would have simply shaken his head, threw on a face mask and checked on him every now and then, but that was before his constant source of human affection walked out of his life. It was sad and a little weird to admit, but in just three days, Jooheon had become painfully touch starved, so he didn’t even think twice about ditching his hoodie and climbing beside Minhyuk, who sniffled happily before pulling him into his arms. 

 

“It’s been so long since I cuddled up to you, remember last time?”

 

“Yeah, just before you moved away to your accommodation for university, remember?”

 

“Of course,” he chuckled. “you cried like a baby that day.”

 

“Shut up.” Jooheon grumbled, much to Minhyuk’s amusement. 

 

“It’s true! If it makes you feel any better I did too.”

 

He craned his neck, only for Minhyuk to immediately sneeze on him. He freezes under his arm, absorbing what had just happened as Minhyuk laughed innocently, quickly dabbing at his face with the duvet. “Well, now you can’t leave for sure.”

 

“I can’t stand you,” Jooheon hissed, sighing. “how come you didn’t cry in front of me?”

 

“I didn’t want to upset you further, and I wanted to prove that things would be okay after that but as soon as I finished packing my stuff and my parents left, I sat and cried for two hours before sucking it up, grabbing a freshman shirt and my drink of choice and went to a party,” he shrugged. “probably why I can’t handle the smell of vodka to this day.”

 

“That bad? But wow, I just thought you were super certain about it and eventually felt better,” he said. “thankfully things worked out, now leave that day to rest, I’m still painfully embarrassed about what I did.”

 

“Of course they did. I don’t see why they wouldn’t,” Minhyuk then laughed, gently running a hand through his hair. “okay, okay, I’ll stop talking about it for your sake. It was surprising, though-“

 

“Minhyuk!” Jooheon whined, attempting to get out of his arms only to be pulled closer, practically against his neck. His breathing ceased momentarily, registering how close the two laid together, and the butterflies apparently doing a full tap routine in his stomach. 

 

“Relax. I’m done, and I’m quite over it,” moments passed before Minhyuk spoke again, still holding Jooheon hostage flush against his collarbone. “truth or dare?”

 

“Truth. I’m not moving anytime soon.”

 

“Okay. How are you feeling today?”

 

He missed a beat, trying to see past the fog in his mind. “Better. It still hurts, but I guess I’ve stepped away far enough to see all the things wrong with our relationship; how I thought an engagement would solve the countless arguments we had last week alone. Maybe it was for the best, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Minhyuk hummed quietly into his hair. “she’ll soon realise what she lost. I bet you.”

 

“Well, that isn’t my problem anymore.” Jooheon deadpanned, causing Minhyuk to release him momentarily, tired eyed staring at him. 

 

“Look at you!” He practically shrieked, Jooheon squirming as he proceeded to squeeze his cheeks. “I’m proud of you; you know what this reminds me of? When you got your first job.”

 

“How the-“

 

“Listen to me; you were begging your parents to not go in on your first day, but you persevered through it and started to be okay with working in a coffee shop, got more confident with taking orders, speaking to customers, making the drinks. This is like that; you’ll hate it at first but then I guess you get used to it and you can eventually move on. The only difference here is that I can physically be by your side for it.” Minhyuk grinned lazily, sleep beginning to get the best of him. 

 

And Jooheon was glad; glad that his eyes were kind of closed, and that he was now facing away from him - he couldn’t see the way he blushed. 

 

“I’m glad you can be by my side.”

 

“How could I never be there to you? You were one of the few and the first to be there for me when I came out - you got suspended trying to defend me, you’ve got shooters for life here.”

 

“I mean, you returned the favour when I came out to you, and that time I broke my collarbone and was basically voluntarily immobile.” He muttered. 

 

“That was a day. Both of those.”

 

It was late night and the two had just left a midnight screening of some dumb comedy, and having grabbed some late night food, were on their way back to Jooheon’s accommodation when he catches a glimpse of the sky, the stars and the moon, the sight washing a sentimental wave over Jooheon. 

He suddenly burst into tears, and then anxiety caused him to throw up, shuddering out a lame ‘ _I’m pan_ ’ to Minhyuk as he came back with a bottle of water. 

 

That day, they went back home and Jooheon simply allowed himself to be held, feeling the lightest he’d ever felt, and the most thankful for his mom for being so bubbly and speaking to Minhyuk’s mom and indirectly ensuring his guardian angel was less than a metre away at any given time. Jooheon smiled.

 

“All I remember is you throwing up on my shoes and sobbing uncontrollably. Really thought you were going to tell me you were irreversibly sick or something,” Minhyuk grumbled. “I really liked those shoes.”

 

“Oh, shut up.” He whimpered, earning more pets on his head. 

 

“But I’m glad. I’m honoured that I was the first to know,” he sighed, sounding more sleepy by the second. “I’m always here for you.”

 

The blush from a few minutes ago was nothing, this time his entire face set alight, and he was certain he began to sweat on top of it all. Thank God he was facing away, thank God he was fa-

 

“Are you sick already too?” Minhyuk’s head hovered over him, watching him with curious eyes. 

 

“Something like that.”

 

To his luck, Minhyuk was out after a few minutes more of cuddling, allowing Jooheon to slip out of his arms and finish marking the spelling tests, clean, cook and even dust the entire house; anything and everything to keep his mind busy, to stop him from thinking. 

 

Two hours passed, and he entered Minhyuk’s room again. His duvet had moved to just over his hip, leaving his bare top half uncovered, gold necklace sticking to the skin of his chest similarly to how dark strands of hair stuck to his forehead. He snored gently, a hand draped over his abdomen. 

Jooheon sat beside him, watching how the sun now filtered into the room, painting stripes on his skin, only making him prettier than he already was. He couldn’t bring himself to blink, watching how his eyelashes rested perfectly, how his lips were slightly parted, still a beautiful red even though the rest of him was paler than usual. 

 

Jooheon leaned closer, planting a kiss on the cool skin of his forehead with zero hesitation before standing again, ready to leave the room when he turned back around, Minhyuk smirking in his sleep.

 

So he flicked his ringer to silent before tossing his phone beside Minhyuk’s, losing the hoodie he’d put on and climbing back under the covers only to be greeted again by his embrace, face buried in the crook of his neck. He responded with a gentle, content groan, still fast asleep, so Jooheon sighed, and allowed his own eyes to flutter shut. 


	5. d-3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apologies for the delay in this update! I was super busy and just generally uninspired to write any it but thankfully got back on it and managed to write this chapter (no matter how much I dislike the first section of the chapter :)))

Hoseok’s house was much like him; hidden in a severely populated area of the outskirts of Myeongdong, the tiny house was actually a minimalist palace, warm and cosy like the hugs he smothered Jooheon with as soon as he came through the door. 

“I’m so, so sorry, Jooheon,” he pouted, sipping on a protein shake before him, turning down the soft music in the background. “I wish I could have been there for you. How are you holding up, though?”

“It’s okay, and I’m doing better. I don’t feel as sad that it didn’t work out, more sad that it went to shit the way it did,” he smiled, taking a sip & wiping the condensation from his glasses. “Minhyuk helped me out loads, practically took the week off to be there for me.”

“Ah, he’s an angel, isn’t he?” grinned Hoseok. “That puts me at peace that he was there for you.”

“Please don’t feel bad, there was no way for you to know! Anyway, tell me how Japan went!”

His entire face lit up. “It was so good. I ate so much, but Kihyun practically recorded everything to listen back to it.”

“That is so precious.”

“I know I am,” he entered the room, wearing heart-shaped glasses, which Jooheon had a hunch he wasn’t aware of, Hoseok chuckling to himself. “what? I know I’m right. Anyway, I missed you, Jooheon. She isn’t shit, okay? You deserve nothing short of someone who appreciates and loves you for the precious baby you are.”

He chuckle at the compliment, Kihyun giving him a bone-crushing hug. Hoseok watched fondly, stepping over to grab his hand and lead him to the couch, arm falling casually around his shoulders. A small smile crept onto Jooheon’s face.

He remembered Hoseok clearly in their college days; a no good life of the party who was brought down several notches by a tiny, sassy transfer called Kihyun, who always missed hanshakes due to his deteriorating eye sight, which only worsened by the time they graduated.  Naturally, Hoseok stuck to him like glue, the two being the missing piece in the other’s life. 

And Jooheon thought it was freaking beautiful, only able to wish for someone to love him as hard as Kihyun and Hoseok loved each other. 

As he observed the couple, a shiny silver ring on Kihyun’s left hand caught his attention. “You’re engaged?!”

“Yes!” Ki grinned. “I just felt this thing slide on my finger and then he broke into this super heartfelt speech about how I’m the best person he’s had and he doesn’t want to lose me-“

_Yeah. Jooheon would really like that._

“Babe,” Hoseok whined shyly. “we must have looked so odd crying in the middle of a museum, but yeah, save the date I guess. Oh, would you guys like drinks?”

The two nodded in agreement, Hoseok wandering off to the kitchen. Kihyun chuckled, crossing over to the other sofa to sit next to Jooheon. “How’s Minhyuk?”

“He’s great, really came through for me this week,” he replied with a smile. “I can’t thank him enough.”

“Bless him. How are you doing?”

“Well. Getting by, it still stings every now and then but I’m okay. I’ll be okay.”

“I wasn’t sure whether to bring up the engagement or not in case it was too early but-“

“Oh my God, no, don’t you ever condition your happiness for the sake of others, especially me. I’m so happy for you two, it’s like watching my child all grown up.” 

 

Kihyun laughed, squeezing his hand. “You’re too pure for this world. But, what I wanted to ask is how are you and Minhyuk? The two of you. You two. **Y’all**.”

“We’re oka- oh,” his voice trailed. “nothing’s happened, Kihyun. He’s taken me in because I left the apartment and I don’t know, I can’t tell if anything will come from it.”

“Well, do you still have feelings for him?”

“I don’t think I ever stopped having feelings for him, maybe they vary in intensity but I’ve always really liked him, but this could also be me being scared of being alone. But, fuck, he’s been there for me my entire life, and I don’t want him to leave anytime soon. He’s too precious for me to just let him pass me by.”

“You don’t have feelings for someone for literally 6 years or more just because you don’t want to be alone,” Kihyun shook his head. “listen, being blind opened my eyes to a lot of things, and one of those was detecting emotions with precision, and just from this small conversation I can tell that you really like him, and it doesn’t take a genius to know Minhyuk would literally die for you, so the choice is yours but, you’re in love, my friend. Unfortunately it took a bad break up to help you realise that, but, you’re a step closer to the end of the tunnel, and I may not be able to see, but I know exactly who’s waiting for you there.”

Curse Kihyun and his literature major-esque speech, which etched itself into his brain long after he left his friends’ house, sat at the back the bus as his mind ran wild. 

Eventually, he grabbed his phone. 

**[jooheon]**

how’s the first day back?

**[minhyuk]**

so dead I wish I was sat at home  🗿

but only 15 more minutes ! 

**[jooheon]**

can I come and meet you, we can go for a walk :)

**[minhyuk]**

yes pls do :3 I have a little something to do before we go home but you can come with me 

“I’m glad you’re happier.” Sohyun’s voice echoed beside him, and for a split second he thought he was dreaming, but there she was, sat opposite him. “I mean it.”

“Why would you even care, Sohyun? In fact, why are you even here?” He snapped quietly. 

“I’m heading home, like you should do,” she said. “I made a huge mistake, Jooheon. I should have never done that to you.”

“Well but you did, at an impressive speed, may I add.”

She went to speak, but stopped, and sighed. “Just come back, please?”

“I think your chances with me are fairly low. In a sense, it was good, it taught me that I deserve better than you.” He replied.

“It was a mistake, Jooheon,” Sohyun’s tone changed dramatically. “don’t you act like you’re an angel too.”

“I never cheated on you, though. Or anybody.”

“Or so you think.”

A heavy silence hung between them, the way life continued around them mildly irritating to him. At least until it washed over him, and he practically. “ **Minhyuk**? Please. He’s literally my best friend, who’s been there for me when nobody else has. It doesn’t mean-“

“It doesn’t take an idiot to know you love him, Jooheon,” she said. “I don’t know what kind of love, but there is only one person in this world you look at the way you look at him.”

Silently, he stood up, heading towards the door. 

“Wait!” She turned around. “Are you together?”

Unexpectedly, he grinned. “No, Sohyun. Some of us know how to keep it in our pants.”

 

***

 

With a gentle yawn, Minhyuk casually walked along the revolving door of the skyscraper he’d learn to call home over the past two years, met with a soft breeze outside, and patches of sunlight.

“Spring is coming.” He muttered to himself, loosening his tie as he peered around in hopes to see Jooheon coming his way. 

“Over here,” he flinched, the aforementioned sneaking up from behind him, two coffee cups in hand. “here.”

“Hey,” he couldn’t help but grin, already recharged just by the sight of his slightly red nose. “oh, thanks so much, you lifesaver.”

“It’s okay, I assumed your Dad didn’t go easy on you after all your days off,” they began to walk. “how was it?”

“It was as dead as always but I might just not go in again for the rest of the week on sick leave, even though my Dad didn’t really see how me not working would help you in any way. But enough about me, how was your day?” Minhyuk fluffed his hair. 

“Well, I got bored and went to visit Kihyun and Hoseok because I was feeling like a housewife but it was only intensified,” he laughed. “but Minhyuk, they’re engaged.”

“They’re engaged?!” Jooheon nodded at his words. “I mean part of me isn’t it even shocked. I could see it happening.”

“Me too, and I’m always down for a wedding party, wedding cake is iconic,” he smiled, taking a sip of his drink, glasses fogging up. “I hate my life.”

“Wait,” he grabbed his tie, calmly wiping at the condensation on his lenses, Jooheon’s eyes furiously wandering everywhere but to his. He beamed. “you’re so cute.”

“Go away.”

“In that case-“ Minhyuk smirked, taking long strides into the park, Jooheon chasing after him. 

He eventually caught up, linking an arm into his. 

“You know my legs are short.” He said quietly, earning another laugh from Minhyuk. 

“It’s okay. I won’t run from you anymore.”

A comfortable silence followed, timely filled by the chirping of birds and rustling of leaves. He wished he never reached the end of the park, where the city would again make it too loud for small moments like this, and too much for Jooheon to be linked into Minhyuk like this.

His fingertips momentarily grazed the band of skin between the end of Minhyuk’s sleeve & the hem of the pocket where his hand was hiding, seemingly accidentally, but still enough to make him see stars for a second. 

It got harder just from yesterday to today, his ill state causing him to forget winning Jooheon’s heart and simply reminiscing of the times he had his own heart in his hands without even knowing. 

But not even the fever could make him forget the feeling of Jooheon’s lips gently touching his forehead, their warmth still there if the concentrated hard enough. 

And naturally, before heading to work, he returned the favour, peppering a handful of kisses on Jooheon’s face, who naturally slept through it like a rock. 

“Where to now?” He asked enthusiastically. “Minhyuk?”

“Oh, well, follow me,” he gestured around a corner, stopping before a tattoo parlour. “here we are.”

Minhyuk walked into the dark black store as it was nothing, a fretful Jooheon behind him.

The first time Minhyuk got ink was in his second year of university, and it was quite the entertainment to watch him explain to both their families that the whale on his knee was there to stay. By now he’d grown used to it, and he came to realise that Minhyuk really loved it (contrary to his curses as he got it done).

So he was truly curious as to why he was back here, giving him a wide-eyed stare, to which he replied with a wink, still speaking to the man at the front desk, who told him to into one of the rooms. 

“What are you getting this time?” Jooheon asked.

“Here, it’s this,” he opened his phone on a sketch of a delicate rose on the reflection of an antique mirror, branches encircling it. “on my back.”

“God no! Smaller than that,” He grinned brightly. “you look terrified. Promise it won’t be as bad as last time.”

“If you say so.”

“Hello,” The guy from earlier peered inside. “I’m just printing the design, I’ll be here in a second so just get your shirt off and then we can start right away.”

“Sure!” He chimed, peeling off his suit jacket before working at his buttons. 

Jooheon wanted to force his eyes away, but he couldn’t, inevitably staring at his bare chest until Minhyuk slowly came to a stop, raising Jooheon’s face with a smirk. 

“You’re blushing.” 

“It’s hot in here.”

“True, good thing my shirt,” he finished the last two buttons, laying on his front on the bed he was sat on. “is coming off.”

His enthusiasm and overall coolness faded the second those needles hit his back, still huffing and puffing about it on the bus ride back, much to Jooheon’s entertainment. 

But some time had passed since the last curse, Minhyuk staring at his phone intensely before locking it, grinning to Jooheon. 

“What?” He gave him a sceptical look.

“I ordered some food, should arrive by the time we’re home.”

Jooheon sighed dramatically. “I was going to cook!”

“No need; we can eat fast and then get on.”

“Get on with what?”

And that was when Minhyuk smiled, with the intensity of 1000 suns. “We’re going to Jeju Island tomorrow.”


	6. d-2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know,, seriously overdue but i’ve just got back to uni and I generally was just trying to settle in again so I didn’t have much time.  
> Much of this chapter is proofread but at one point I fell asleep and I really don’t remember where I stopped proofreading so if you see a typo, mind your business (kidding, you’re welcome to tell me hehe).

Winter was really here, Minhyuk came to realise as the plane reached a stable altitude, people now beginning to walk up and down the cabin. He waved over a flight attendant for some extra blankets, bundling up warm beside an entirely knocked out Jooheon.

He’d seen him briefly, still up in the early hours of the morning as he went to grab some water, avoiding sleep so he could sleep for the entirety of the flight & entertaining himself with a random food channel. 

Despite having promised himself he’d use the free couple hours to be productive so he could go into this holiday stress-free, Minhyuk was certain that he spent most of his time admiring how pretty his best friend looked behind his oversized glasses and with the blanket all the way up to his nose. He stared fondly and obviously, moving a couple of strands that would fall across his face every now and then as he found himself looking away from his laptop to him every 10 minutes. Content, - and for the umpteenth time - he sighed to himself, turning to his laptop.

The flight was shorter than he anticipated, Jeju-bound less than 90 minutes after take off. Gently, Minhyuk shook Jooheon’s arm. “Hey,” he whispered. “we’re here.”

To his surprise, his eyes pinged open in alarm, causing him to flinch back. “Shit sorry,” Jooheon immediately started, stretching adorably. “I was having the most intense zombie apocalypse dream.”

“It’s okay. But yeah we-“ he was cut off by the plane hitting the ground, and Jooheon couldn’t help but laugh. “yeah.”

“Did you just wake up too? You sound so out of it.”

“You could say so.” He didn’t bother elaborating, packing his things up with a content smile, before filing out of the plane alongside everybody else. Jooheon followed behind, conversation flowing easily between them like always as they went through security.

The air smelled strongly of the ocean the second they stepped foot outside, a cold but less harsh wind embracing them within seconds. Jooheon pulled his hood over his head. “Where to now?”

“Car rental, I got us a car so we can travel freely.” Minhyuk beamed, amused by Jooheon’s expression.

“You’re doing the most.”

“I mean, only the best for us; and after the week from hell you had, this is the least I could do.”

“Oh please,” he almost sounded distressed. “I actually can’t thank you enough, like how am I supposed to ever repay you for looking out for me this whole week?”

“You already have, just by allowing me to be there for you,” Minhyuk instinctively touched the back of his head, stroking his hair gently. “what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t have your back?”

“I get it but like, this, I feel bad-“

“Don’t even go there. I’m doing this because I want to, Jooheon.”

 _And because I’m in love with you_ , he almost added, _like I have been for the past four years and I feel like if I keep this to myself I might explode but it’s okay._

Jooheon grinned, with the intensity of all the lights of Jeju International Airport but tenfold.

_This is fine,_ Minhyuk convinced himself, every corner of his mind on fire, _this is fine._

The Airbnb of choice was a quaint house near the sea, the view from the first floor windows showcasing the beauty of the beach, the late winter afternoon sun shining down peacefully on the clear waters.

“This is so fucking cool,” he could hear Jooheon mutter to himself from the next room, laughing. He eventually came to the master bedroom, flopping down on one of the two double beds in the room. “what? It’s true. The amount of times I’ve considered just moving to Jeju, especially after that school trip we had.”

“Yeah, I feel tha-“ his words died in his mouth as he turned around, a strip of sunlight shining perfectly across Jooheon’s left eye, their usual warm brown intensified into breathtaking honey. He blinked curiously, and Minhyuk hoped to God there was a defibrillator in this house as he fumbled for his phone. “don’t move.”

“Huh?”

“Stay right there,” he mumbled, hoping his shaky hands wouldn’t ruin the photo of a lifetime, angling the phone to him. “you just looked really cute.”

“Wow, a miracle.” Jooheon laughed.

“You always look cute to me.”

There it was, the suffocating need to slap himself for having zero self control that Minhyuk somehow suppressed by clasping his hands together. Before him, Jooheon blushed, looking away to the wall, and Minhyuk nearly exploded again.

“Are you hungry?”

“When am I not hungry, Minhyuk?” He sighed heavily, falling back on the bed. “Not being dramatic but, my stomach has become a void. It barely remembers what it felt to have food inside of it.”

His mind backtracked to breakfast, Jooheon stuffing himself with waffles and biscuits, washing it down with a steady flow of coffee from home up until they went through security. He chuckled. “Let’s get going then.”

Any of the clouds in the sky were gone by the time they returned outside, the weather looking deceivingly like summer, when in reality, it was cold as fuck.

The radio filled the silence between them, Jooheon rolling the window down a little as they drove by the sea. “I’m sort of feeling seafood.”

“Oh yeah, for sure. We can look up some-“

“Minhyuk.”

“- decent places and -“

“Minhyuk,” Jooheon repeated, louder. “pull over.”

“What?”

He pointed ahead, a white mound on the side of the road. As they neared it, he realised I was a person, in a wedding dress.

Not even thinking twice, he pulled over a few metres before, the sound of the tires on the gravel beside the road stunning the woman. 

Jooheon left the car first, approaching the woman. “Sorry, are you okay? We saw you so we thought we’d check.”

She looked up, make up entirely done, but slightly streaky from her tears. “I need a ride into town. I told my Father I was getting married today and he disowned me, so I have no way of getting there.”

“How long until the ceremony?”

“It starts at 12,” she replied. “no, it’s okay. I don’t want to bother; you seem like you’re out of town so you’d probably want to exp-“

“Listen, it’s okay. We can look around after, you can’t miss your own wedding,” Minhyuk said softly. “please, give us the address and I’ll drive you there.”

“Are you sure?” Some relief was seen on her face.

“100%, now come on,” Jooheon grinned, helping her to her feet & the remainder of her dress into the backseat of the car before they drove off. “sorry, I never caught your name.”

“Jung Yoora, and you?”

“I’m Jooheon, and this is my other half Minhyuk.”

Minhyuk almost crashed.

“Oh, are you like, together?” She asked carefully, sending the pair into splutters and hurried ‘no’s, causing her to laugh. “Right, got it.”

It suddenly became unbearably warm in the car, Minhyuk rolling down a window in hopes to not entirely lose his cool. He changed the subject.

“Yoora. I don’t mean to stick my nose in your business, but what happened?”

“I was arranged to marry someone; a cold businessman my father thought would be good to me, but I was already in love with someone else, one of my childhood friends. So my mother and friends helped me prepare for the wedding, but with him instead. I broke the news to my father and he didn’t approve, claiming he was cutting me off,” she replied slowly, Minhyuk shaking his head. “but I can’t bring myself to regret it. I’m marrying the love of my life, and making it on time thanks to you! I’m forever indebted to you.”

Please. We wouldn’t just leave you there.”

“Still!” She laughed.

“Would you say it was a risk worth taking, despite what went wrong?” Jooheon asked.

“Yeah. I don’t regret anything, and I’m so glad I took that leap of faith. I’m glad I did it, and even though some things went badly, I would have hated myself my whole life if I hadn’t at least tried.”

Minhyuk took a deep breath, her words resonating a little harder than he liked.

“But enough about me, tell me about you two. How did you guys make friends?” Yoora asked, smiling.

Jooheon perked up. “Oh, this is the story of a lifetime. Like I’m gonna tell my kids and they’ll tell theirs, type of story,” they laughed. “so, backtrack to November 1993, when Lee Minhyuk came out screaming into the world.”

“The turning point of humanity if you ask me.” He joked, smirking.

“Couldn’t have put it better myself,” Jooheon replied, eyes lingering on his a second longer than expected before turning to Yoora. “so..”

It was only a 15 minute drive, but Minhyuk fell in love all over again, listening to Jooheon give a rather accurate timeline of their friendship, now able to pinpoint the exact moment he knew he would like to be more than his friend.

Yoora listened closely, fixing her make up as she added small comments here and there, laughing occasionally.

The car pulled up before a tiny cathedral, Minhyuk shutting off his GPS before turning to the backseat with a grin. “It’s showtime.”

“Please, both of you, come inside. Stay for the ceremony and the reception,” she asked. “I insist. It’s the least I can do.”

“Oh, we don’t want to crash your day-“

“If anything, you stopped my day from crashing,” she patted Jooheon’s shoulder. “please?”

“It would be a pleasure to be your second to last and last guests, Yoora,” Minhyuk eventually said, much to her delight. “now, go get them. We’ll sneak in behind you.”

“Okay, okay, oh, my god, it’s happening!” She screeched, opening the car door and waving down her bridesmaids to help with her dress.

“Come on.” Minhyuk offered Jooheon a hand, that he didn’t hesitate to hold.

Inside, the chapel was packed wall to wall, the two of them standing behind the last pews, cameras at the ready for Yoora’s entrance. 

“I can’t believe we’re crashing a wedding, Min.” Jooheon whispered into Minhyuk’s ear.

“The adventures are just writing themselves.” He chuckled, squeezing the hand he never released. “good spot.”

“Thanks.” He smiled, pointing in the direction of a radiant Yoora, looking like the main character of a fairy tale. At the altar, her lover watched with teary eyes, holding her hands tightly once she reached him.

Jooheon leaned on Minhyuk’s shoulder and he hummed in response, leaning his head on top of his as he hoped the moment never came to an end. 

* * *

The reception was held in a hall, decorated with hundreds of fairy light and stunning flowers, and so much food.

In the off chance that Minhyuk and Jooheon had the chance to actually be around each other - given that Yoora’s husband, family and friends were all eager to meet the pair that saved the day from impending doom, one or the other was holding some type of food in their hand. 

The night was young, the food good, the music better, and the people the best. 

But there was one person Minhyuk was looking for, even if indirectly, he came to think as he walked through a legit corridor of huge plants, LEDs on the ground lighting up the path. It led to a bench, surrounded by more flowers and plants, where Jooheon sat, a beer in hand.

“There you are,” Minhyuk smiled, sitting beside him. To his surprise, Jooheon immediately leaned into him, laying his head on his legs. “you having a good time?”

“Yeah. I ate so much, and then I got pulled onto te dance floor when her siblings were speaking to you that my legs are literally aching,” he sighed. “I hope you don’t mind being the designated driver.”

“No problem, and I’m glad you’re having fun. You’re looking better than you did a few days ago.”

“It stung pretty badly today,” he said quietly. “you know, like, seeing Yoora getting married, the whole ceremony, the reception. It made me feel as if this is what I should’ve been getting ready for, this is what I should have too.”

He paused for a beat. “But then, it also got me thinking.”

“Did it?” Minhyuk responded, running his fingers through his hair as he nodded.

“Yeah. It made me think that hey, this wedding thing is a once in a lifetime thing; like, I wouldn’t want to do it again, only once. And if I only want to do it once, good fucking thing I avoided a cheater,” he chuckled. “I should marry someone who will love me forever. Like you.”

“You want to marry me?”

“Why not?” His eyes opened and he grinned, dimples on show. “It would be pretty cool and plus we’re married couples already, and it’s not like we haven’t kissed before, and I **really** wouldn’t mind doing it again-“

Minhyuk astral projected, Jooheon sitting up immediately, a panicked look on his face. “So, this might be my queue to leave.”

 

“I mean if it’s your queue to leave, it’s also mine,” he laughed. “but okay, let’s go say goodbye.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the Jooheon photo bit was inspired by that one photo from the we are here album photobook in version 4 where he just looks like a baby tiger and HDJDJD the loml ♡  
> only two more chapters (+ epilogue) to go, and only one more day until the end of the week :)  
> d-1 will be up within the next three days, because it’s awfully short, I’m as eager as you to get to d-day already :3


	7. d-1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> told you. ;).

_[August 2015]  
_

_The air was warm, sticky with the late summer heat. So much that Minhyuk’s shirt was beginning to stick to his back, having spent most of his day packing and moving things into the car.  
_

_The clock ticked away into the early afternoon, nearing the time he’d have to leave what he knew as home for good, turning the page onto another, exciting chapter of his life._

_But he was at war with himself._

_Part of him wanted him to stay, take a year off and be here with Jooheon, to enjoy more time with him and eventually go to university with his best friend._

_But he also desperately ached for a change of scenery, to be at a distance from Jooheon and for his feelings to die down before they tarnished the most important friendship of his life._

_Minhyuk’s hopes were set high for university, a checklist forming in his mind a couple days ago - make a decent group of friends who have his back, to meet someone who will make him wonder where they were for the first 19 years of his life, graduate with a First Class Business degree whilst maintaining a part of his soul intact._

_But he wasn’t so sure about it all. Even less as Jooheon rounded the corner onto their street, walking slowly._

_“Last box,” his father sighed, shutting the boot of the car. “I think that’s everything, we’re good to go.”_

_“Yeah, can we wait like 30 minutes? I want to say goodbye to Jooheon.” Minhyuk replied, his friend walking over to stand beside him._

_“Sure, I think your mother is resting anyway. Don’t be long.” He smiled, walking back inside. Minhyuk turned to Jooheon, who looked gloomier than usual._

_“Oh come on,” he threw an arm around him as they headed down the road, despite how warm it was. “I’ll be back during weekends, and should I have a free afternoon I’ll come see you too! Don’t be sad.”_

_“I know, it’s just gonna be weird, you know, not seeing you around and stuff.” He mumbled through a pout._

_They reached a deserted park, sitting at a bench blessed by the shade of the trees surrounding it. Minhyuk wiped a bead of sweat on his forehead, pulling his legs to his chest._

_“Jooheon, I’m always a phone call or text away. I won’t suddenly forget about you or anything, you’re my best friend,” he smiled. “plus it’s only a few months before you join me.”_

_“I know, but..”_

_“But what?”_

_The younger squeezed his eyes shut, speaking too damn fast for Minhyuk to grasp initially. “I know but you’ll go to university and make all these cool ass friends and forget about me and never come home and by the time I get there they’ll be your closest friends and we’ll barely speak and then we’ll just not speak at all-“_

_“Let me stop you right there, because no matter how cool these people are they will never be you. They’ll never be the grubby little kid that’s been there for me all these years, or the cool guy who risked expulsion to stand up for me, and accept me regardless of who I’m attracted to,” Minhyuk touched his hand. “you’re my best friend, and I love you a lot and will never forget about you. Now come here.”_

_Much to Jooheon’s protest, Minhyuk wrapped him in a tight hug. “Shut up, this is the last time I can do this for a while, let me have my moment.”_

_“I have a question to ask,” he eventually said, after complaining about Minhyuk’s lack of care for how warm it was and how he was literally about to collapse from heat stroke. Minhyuk nodded. “is it normal to not care about whether the person you like is a girl or a boy? Like, as long as they’re a nice person I don’t care about their gender?”_

_“Yes. It’s called pansexuality and it’s indeed very normal.” he replied softly._

_With eyes sparkling so brightly that the Moon would be jealous, Jooheon beamed. “Then, I guess that’s me.”_

_Minhyuk went in for the second round of hugs, ignoring Jooheon literally cussing him out for doing so. “I’m so proud of you.” he touched the back of his head fondly._

_“Thank you. I don’t know what sparked it; I guess I’ve always liked girls but more recently it’s been less about the fact that it’s a girl but because she’s kind or she makes me laugh. And then I started liking a guy. Not so much because he was a guy, but because he was always there for me, and he always made me feel happy just by being around. So yeah. I think I really like him.”_

_“So why don’t you say something to him?”_

_“Oh, no,” he chuckled nervously. “I don’t think he feels the same way.”_

_“Absolute bullshit, Jooheon,” Minhyuk shook his head, ignoring the tightness in his chest. “must be literally brain dead for him to not like you back. You’re literally the prettiest person I know, you’re hilarious, and even though you somehow manage to burn ramen, you’re so adorable it’s easy to overlook that, so I think you should go for it. Take the chance. What’s the worst that could happen? I’m sure-“_

_No, Minhyuk wasn’t sure of anything. At all. Ever._

_There was no way Minhyuk could ever form a coherent sentence the moment Jooheon’s hands landed on either side of his face - the probabilities only halved when he gently kissed his lips._

_He was thankful for the hands on his cheeks; if not he was certain he would just float up into the air towards heaven, his body falling at some point as his soul continued to ascend because Minhyuk cannot fucking believe it._

_He’d imagined this time and time over; what it would be like to kiss Jooheon, and how things would unfold if he did, but now that he was here, it exceeded every expectation he didn’t even know he had._

_As suddenly as it had begun, it ended, a rather crimson Jooheon bowing deeply before yelling an apology & taking off before Minhyuk could even stop him. _

_He couldn’t even be mad at him, too damn giddy for his own good._

_Even once he was laying in his dorm room, after reassuring Jooheon via texts that it was okay as that they’d just forget it ever happened, he couldn’t stop touching his lips, and how they ached to kiss him again._

_It was then, on a late August night that Minhyuk decided he would do whatever it took to kiss Jooheon again._

_And next time, he sure as hell was going to beat him to it._


	8. d-day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is, the chapter that’s been in my head since May.

Minhyuk came to his senses slowly, woken up by the chilly linen on the untouched edge of the bed, a stray patch of sunlight warming up a rectangle on his ankle. It felt weird to sleep alone for the first time in a while; even after Jooheon’s room was finished, he still slept in Minhyuk’s bed because of the unforgiving smell of paint, so it wasn’t uncommon to roll over to a warm back or wake up in a tangle of limbs.

The room felt foreign for the first few minutes, until he could hear faint music, carrying the smell of breakfast upstairs with its melody. He smiled, lazily stretching with a silent yawn, he’s so cute. 

He also said he wouldn’t mind kissing you again. 

Minhyuk’s eyes shot open, sitting up. He wasn’t sure of how he came to move past what Jooheon said, but his mind reminded him at every chance it could between then and now, and his heart would backflip in his chest every time.   
He reached for a hoodie, padding downstairs before almost bumping into Jooheon, wrapping a scarf around himself. 

“Hi.” Minhyuk squeaked. 

“Hey, I made you breakfast since you like, had to take care of me last night,” Jooheon smiled. “did you sleep well?”

“Thanks so much,” he shrugged casually in response. “where are you off to?”

“Just the beach. I need to air out, think someone stuff over,” he replied. “I won’t be long and I won’t go far, we can go get some food and look around a bit more when I’m back.”

“I like the sound of that, yeah.”

Minhyuk heard the door close shortly after that, pouring himself some coffee as he began to graze on the breakfast neatly arranged on the table. He couldn’t help as a smile took over his features, he was so thankful for his best friend. 

Crush aside, Jooheon was the safe haven Minhyuk didn’t come to realise he had until he found himself on the verge of tears at his doorstep at 3am mid exam season & instead of trying to motivate him to get back to work, Jooheon let him just cry until he felt better, then helped him go over the final parts of his revision. 

He could only hope he’d paid him back for all the times he’d been there for him, even more so this week, where his heart shattered alongside his, only a little more. 

Because nothing hurts like watching the one you love being aching, your own hands tied helplessly. And if it was up to Minhyuk, Jooheon would never face heartbreak again, which is probably why he was out of the house 10 minutes after him, slipping into the nearest shoes and taking off down the tiny country lane leading to the beach.

Jeju sparkled under the late morning sun, colours appearing more and more vivid the closer Minhyuk got to the seafront, cheeks glowing red with the harsh bite of the winter sea breeze. He whipped his head around desperately, people scattered around the beach, so few he could count them on one hand.   
Jooheon stood out immediately, walking in the direction of the pier, and suddenly Minhyuk could no longer feel the ache in his legs as he ran, or hear the sound of the waves crashing, muffled by the blood rushing past his ears. 

As he neared, Jooheon continued walking peacefully, so unsuspecting that Minhyuk slowed to a walk, admiring how he looked out of this world in the most simple, bare setting. His heart showed no signs of slowing down, taking the moment Jooheon blew air into his chilly hands to approach him, taking his now free right hand into his. He looked at him, surprised. “Minhyuk? I thought you were having breakfast.”

“I did, but I missed you, so I came to meet you,” he replied, mirroring the smile on his best friend’s face. “plus, you didn’t bring your gloves so I though I could help.” 

Jooheon shook his head, “yeah, it’s helping.”

A comfortable silence followed, Minhyuk holding Jooheon’s hand as they walked to the end of the deserted pier, leaning on the railing. Below the sea glistened peacefully, lazy waves rolling to the shore. 

“Are you feeling okay? You had quite a bit to drink last night.” Minhyuk mused, moving strands of his hair from his face. 

“I felt like shit when I woke up but I had water and food and now I’m okay, but yeah, I had a lot,” he chuckled. “no memory loss or anything.”

His head snapped to the left of him, “You remember everything?” Jooheon nodded, “Like, everything you said?” He nodded again. Another silence followed, shorter, “Do you have anything to say about it?”

“There is nothing to say when nothing has changed, is there, Minhyuk?” Jooheon turned around, leaning his hip on the railings as his hand landed perfectly on where his rested on the cold metal. “I-“

“No.”

“No?”

“Yes, no, I’m not going to let you beat me to it again, Jooheon, so,” he grinned softly. “give me a run for my money if you want to say it first,” the younger chuckled. “I love you. So goddamn much. And I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember, and it never wavered no matter where you were or who you were with because although I couldn’t love you romantically, I loved you the way a friend loves a friend, the way a soulmate would love a soulmate - platonically or not. You’re the most important person to me, and I hope you know I love you.”

Another silence followed, in which Minhyuk took a deep inhale of the sea air, feeling the lightest he’d felt for years. Until the doubt settled, the silence too lengthy, his hand left bare again as Jooheon turned to the ocean. 

“Well, I love you too, Minhyuk,” he replied. “I know I dated other people, but I loved you the way friends love each other too, until this week. I was at the lowest yet you didn’t hesitate to put your life on hold and showed me that nobody will love me the way you do, and that I I’ll never feel the same way with anybody else, even though I thought these feelings had died down. But I was so wrong, because I-“

As beautiful as it sounded to him, Minhyuk didn’t allow him to finish, pulling him by the collars into the massively overdue kiss he had only dreamt of until then. It exceeded any passing thought or daydream he had of the moment, Jooheon smiling against his lips before pulling him flush against him.   
In utter bliss, Minhyuk leaned his forehead against Jooheon’s, who nuzzled into the warm hand holding his cheek. 

“I waited so long for this.” he said. 

“Exactly how long, just out of curiosity?” Jooheon asked.

“Too many years,” he laughed at his tiny gasp. “now if you excuse me.”

He released him, producing a high frequency scream towards the ocean. Jooheon tried to clamp a hand over his mouth, but with little success. “I DID IT!”

“Are you trying to contact your dolphin cousins or something! Stop!” He laughed. “Come on, lets go home.”

“Wait, wait, Jooheon,” Minhyuk stopped him. “will you be my boyfriend?”

“Do you need an answer?” 

Minhyuk smiled brightly, taking off down the pier and through the windy streets of Jeju, Jooheon hot at his heels, his hand warm in his. 

The way it’s always been. The way it is. The way it’s always going to be. I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for all the love you guys have relentlessly poured into this fic. this is my first completed MONSTA X fic on AO3, and I’m so glad a bunch of you enjoy it - it warms my heart.   
> See you very very soon (or on my other works, if you’re already there) ♡ 
> 
> (ps. Come say hello on twitter!! @/lysjooheon ♡)


End file.
